Tag: Inspirational

Update 6 weeks

I am doing well I have my energy back for the most part it took 5 weeks for me not to feel wiped out.

I saw my cardio for the one month follow up he was very pleased with my progress and I got to go off some medications YES…

We went to Livingston yesterday first time in 8 weeks and boy was I tired by the time we got back home.

The house is framed up YES… Our son says plumbing and sheetrocks next. He said we should be finished by August.

In the meantime I put down a $5200 deposit on a well that will cost $11,400.00 they are 4 – 6 weeks out.

The mulcher was there yesterday since we had it resurveyed and we gained about 15ft on the left side of the house. This is a good thing because of Jacks future shop.

We found a huge magnolia we thought was the neigbors but its on our property. Since our property is named Magnolia hill we seem to be finding lots of magnolia trees. There is on or two in the front, one on the hill and this one on the side another few in the back yard. I love magnolias and this variety seems to grow fast and get tall.

This is my update for now.

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Update #2

Today is 3 weeks since my surgery.

I am slow moving trying to get my energy back again but not overdoing it.

It is hot here so 90% of my walking is indoor at this point. I go out early a.m. or later p.m.

The Livingston house update is slow and steady.

The framers are supposed to be there this week.

The people doing the front gable porch and the back lean too porch will be getting started soon. The concrete area for the porches is 12ft x 40 ft so the lean too back porch will be that size. The gable front porch will be 10ft each side of the front door and 12 ft out.

They will also custom build my island I am just trying to decide on 8ft or 9ft long.

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Update on the heart

I saw my regular cardiologist last week.

Today I had a heart cath to rule out any issues before my valve replacement.

There were no surprises so that is a good thing.

If all goes well surgery is next week.

It’s a blessing to live close to the Houston Medical Center where some of the best drs around are.

I think one of the great things is they can do heart valve surgery with robotics this is our plan on mine.

I will keep you all posted as much as possible.

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The mulberry thieves

We get excited about the mulberry season.

The grandkids love to pick and eat them I love to make jelly with them.

The mulberry thieves are back this year and every time we get some dark ones they swoop in and eat them all. These are cedar waxwings they are quite unique looking.

Even Daisy hunted the ground for some and could only find red ones and she wanted the black ones she loves to eat them so does Zoee.

Last year we got lucky and they left our tree alone this year they are making up for it.

You never know what the wildlife will do from year to year. I do think these birds are quite pretty.

We have about 10 baby mulberry trees growing we are going to dig up and put in pots for Livingston. They are about 4 ft tall.

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Amaryllis blooms

This is an Amaryllis plant my sister gave me last fall she said it was one she had given to my mom.

It has been gorgeous this year. I still have it in the pot but I am thinking about planting it

with some Iris, and paperwhite bulbs at our Livingston house. Then all the bulbs come back to being family members.

These blooms indicate springtime has arrived here in Texas.

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Cricket turned 3 years old

Cricket turned 3 years old on February 2.

I never did get her picture posted because I had just gotten out of the hospital on visit 1 and little did I know there would be another visit a few weeks later.

Cricket had to go on a diet. Her body was resembling a square instead of a curve in the hip area. She was eating 5 cups a day now she is getting 4 cups and as you can notice she has a dip in her side which is perfect. Cricket’s body is built deep from the top of her back to the bottom of her stomach. When you roll her over she is so wide.

I hate when I have to cut her back because she is a very big dog but at the same time, big dogs can not function if they are overweight. She can still run right at you like a bulldozer about to knock you down.

I can not believe she is already 3 years old. The next time she goes into heat she will be getting bred again. I think we figured up this should be around May.

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A pair of house finches

I was looking out the french doors at the bird feeders and spotted this pair of house finches.

I have never understood the bird world and how male birds get all the bright colors.

A couple of birds just eating some seed on a warm Texas day.

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Specialist Update

I went to the specialist’s appt. on Tuesday.
They admitted me to the hospital to get as many tests ran as possible I was released on Friday.

We did a 3D echo of the heart which was the coolest thing I have ever seen. Then a transesophageal echo is also known as a TEE, then a CT of the heart, lungs, and abdomen with contrast and without.

I have a leg doppler later this month and my cardio will discuss if I need a right-left heart cath.


It’s not an emergency that I do the surgery next week but, for my symptoms to go away I have to do surgery. My worst symptoms are dizziness and shortness of breath. Next up would be how worn out I get because of tiredness.


I am not a candidate for a valvoplasty there is too much regurgitation on the valve. I have to have a mitral valve replaced it can not even be repaired.


The surgeon I met with thinks my procedure can be done using robotics and thru the right side of the ribs. This would be a lot less invasive surgery than open heart surgery. He suggests the mechanical valve and coumadin for the rest of my life. With my age, this is the best option.
I already take Coumadin/ Warfarin so that is no change you just have to monitor it closely.


In the hospital, they put me on a Heparin IV drip because my blood was too thick they said a few weeks before surgery I will need to give myself shots in the stomach 2 x a day for a blood thinner. I am not at a therapeutic level at this time. My level is like 1.8 and for surgery, it needs to be between 3.5 and 4.5.


I really like this team of Drs and I love the less invasive surgery which would also mean less recoup time.

I am ready to get back to doing things I love like walking, photography, and playing with the dogs I feel like I have had to take a step back from everything I love. Our house in Livingston is about to be built and I want to be able to enjoy this time in my life.


Right now we are just chilling out about this and will make a decision sometime soon about when we think the best time might be.

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Potting bench in bloom

The crossvine on the top of the fence runs across the potting bench.

It looked so pretty that I had to grab a picture.

There is something about the junk hanging on the fence boards with the vine as an accent that I really like about this picture.

We call this architectural junk photography.

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